10 Questions with Gillian Anderson and Hannah Einbinder
The X-Files and Hacks stars on TV fame, slasher films, female sexuality and dealing with controversy
Rob Latour/Shutterstock
- James Mottram
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Different generations maybe, but Gillian Anderson and Hannah Einbinder are both screen idols. Anderson, 58, found fame as paranormal investigator Scully in The X-Files, while Einbinder, 31, is riding high thanks to acclaimed comedy series Hacks. Now they’re co-starring in the new film Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, with Einbinder’s budding director Kris trying to convince Anderson’s reclusive cult star Billy Presley to return to the horror franchise that made her name.
You’ve both experienced fame in big TV shows. Have you discussed this?
GILLIAN ANDERSON When I’m working, I get quite myopic. I’m not good at chat when I’m in the middle of filming, so I often don’t get to know my co-stars. But we’ve been talking about that as we’ve been doing press, just in terms of her sudden big success with Hacks and my experience on The X-Files. I had another element of it: I had a baby at the same time, which impacted the experience in quite a profound way.
Do you miss The X-Files’ Scully?
GILLIAN No, I don’t. In part, that’s because I played her for so long.
Hannah, how aware were you of Gillian’s work?
HANNAH EINBINDER I’ve been aware of her for a long time! It was so surreal to meet her and getting to work with her was such a dream.
Hannah Einbinder in Hacks. Jake Giles Netter/HBO Max
And how did you cope with the fame and acclaim that Hacks brought?
HANNAH We shot the first season in November of 2020. So, the first season existed in isolation because we didn’t do premieres, we didn’t go out. It came out when we were all still very much inside [because of Covid], so it really was a gradual build. I think its popularity and exposure is at a height right now, but I wouldn’t say it was in that place in season one. So I did have an easing into it, which I feel lucky for.
You started in stand-up. What shaped your humour?
HANNAH I grew up in a time where there was crazy stuff for kids – acid cartoons, like Ed, Edd n Eddy, Courage the Cowardly Dog, CatDog and The Powerpuff Girls. I think that that laid the groundwork for my comedic sensibility.
Your new film – Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma – sends up the slasher genre. Are you both horror fans?
GILLIAN I had a bad experience as a young teen, I think I was at a sleepover. It was my first time smoking marijuana and somebody had The Texas Chainsaw Massacre on. Really bad trip. That was the end of me watching horror films, so I’ve kept away from them.
HANNAH My mom’s really into horror, so she exposed me to a lot of it. But slasher as a genre was not something I was really familiar with.
As Billy and Chris in Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma.
The film examines female sexuality – was that challenging to play?
HANNAH The material really challenged me to examine what was also true for me, as well as for the character. What Kris experiences, this feeling of shame and discomfort and dissociation in her body... I think it’s so universal.
GILLIAN I’ve had a couple of books published about anonymous sexual fantasies from women around the world, and part of that conversation is about the degree to which shame still exists – for many people, not just women. But this anonymity almost imbues them with the courage to be able to talk about the degree to which shame is such a part of their experience.
You have another book, More, due out next month. Are you surprised that these books, and the show Sex Education, led you here?
GILLIAN Yes… it feels like a space that I wouldn’t have guessed I would be conversing in. But I’m very open and willing to be a vocal component of it.
Gillian Anderson in The X-Files with David Duchovny.
Do you think younger generations can experience desire more freely today?
HANNAH It depends who you are, but I would hope so. I’d hope that people now feel a demystification of a lot of things.
Gillian, you starred in The Salt Path, which was plunged into controversy last year when it was alleged that the source book wasn’t entirely based on fact. How did that make you feel?
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GILLIAN It’s very unfortunate. The film was doing really well in the UK – beyond my expectations. I think we were about to sign with Sony Classics for the United States the week when the article came out, so it sucked, and continues to suck. A lot of people were enjoying it, regardless, and it is special in its own right. I hope people are able to experience it as its own entity, separate from what may or may not be true or whatever controversy there is.
Authors
James Mottram
James Mottram is a London-based film critic, journalist, and author.
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